Stonebroom Primary and Nursery School

Stonebroom Primary and Nursery School High Street, Stonebroom, Alfreton, DE55 6JY

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Although standards are now beginning to rise, many pupils have made less progress than they should have done and boys have done less well than girls.  The proportion of pupils making better than expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics is low.  At the end Year 6, only a small proportion of pupils have attained the higher levels in reading.  Some pupils in Key Stage 2 do not make as much progress as they should in reading.  Over time, teaching has not been strong enough to secure consistently good progress for all pupils.  Teachers’ expectations are not always high enough, especially for more-able pupils.  Lessons sometimes lack pace and teachers do not check often enough whether pupils understand what they are meant to learn.

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The school has the following strengths

 The new headteacher and leadership team have succeeded in improving the quality of teaching, with the result that standards are on track to rise this year, especially in Years 5 and 6.  Children make good progress over their time in the Nursery and Reception.  Pupils’ behaviour is good and pupils feel safe. They contribute to the calm, friendly atmosphere in school. Relationships are very positive.  The curriculum is vibrant and exciting, offering a window on the world because of its international dimension. It makes a strong contribution to pupils’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed 10 lessons taught by six teachers, listened to pupils read, scrutinised work in pupils’ books, discussed their work with them, and attended two school assemblies.  Discussions were held with staff, pupils in Years 5 and 6, senior leaders, five governors including the Chair of the Governing Body, the learning mentor and a representative of the local authority.  The inspector looked at information on pupils’ progress, teaching, planning and monitoring. The school’s records on safeguarding, behaviour and attendance were reviewed.  The inspector took account of the views of parents from 12 responses to Parent View, the online questionnaire, and the comments of 25 parents attending school assembly. The views of staff were gained from informal discussions and scrutiny of the 10 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Judith Straw, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The great majority of pupils are of White British heritage. The number of pupils who speak English as an additional language is very small.  The proportion of pupils entitled to the pupil premium (additional funding provided for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals) is high, currently amounting to nearly half of all pupils.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at school action is below average, but the proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  Since the previous inspection, the deputy headteacher took on the role of acting headteacher from January to March 2013 and a new headteacher took up post at the beginning of April

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Information about this school

2013.A new Chair of the Governing Body was appointed in September 2013.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Build on and consolidate the improved teaching and, thereby, accelerate progress and raise attainment for all pupils by:  ensuring that all teachers set high expectations and challenge for all pupils, and particularly the more-able pupils and boys  ensuring that all lessons move forward at a brisk pace and that teachers check pupils’ understanding throughout the lesson.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Extend the school’s existing strategies to improve reading, particularly in Key Stage 2, by:  using reading targets more effectively  developing further structured guided reading sessions  increasing pupils’ use of book corners and the library  embedding the use of reading journals  involving parents more in supporting reading at home.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Standards are average in writing and mathematics but were below average in reading in 2013. Over time, standards have not risen quickly and boys have made less progress than girls.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Although the proportion of pupils who join the school partway through their primary education is only average, the small numbers in each year group mean that individual pupils can have a large effect on the school’s overall figures for attainment and progress. This was the case in 2013, and it accounts for data on progress over Key Stage 2 appearing relatively weak. Those pupils who left Year 6 last year who had been at the school since the end of Year 2 mostly made the progress they should over their time at the school.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 It is the more-able pupils who have not all made as much progress as they should. Few pupils reach the higher Level 3 in writing at the end of Key Stage 1 or in reading at Level 5 at the end of Key Stage 2. Inspection evidence shows that more pupils are on track to reach the higher levels in 2014.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 In recent years, nearly all pupils have made the progress expected in writing and mathematics but not enough have made better than expected progress in Years 3 to 6 because, in the past, teaching has not been strong enough to promote better achievement. The school’s tracking system was not sufficiently rigorous to identify where pupils were falling behind so that action could be taken to support them.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ progress is accelerating in reading. This is because the school has improved guided reading sessions and provides some enticing book corners and a well-resourced library but pupils rarely use these facilities. Reading journals have just been introduced but not all pupils are keeping these up to date. Reading targets are now set for all pupils but they do not always know what they are. Some pupils rarely read at home.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Inspection evidence shows that pupils in the current Years 5 and 6 are making better progress as a result of better teaching. This is confirmed by the school’s tracking, its more frequent and rigorous assessments, and scrutiny of the work in pupils’ books.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils are now making faster progress in mathematics. This is because teachers are planning lessons which give pupils the opportunity to solve problems and work answers out for themselves.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils eligible for support funded by the pupil premium are making similar progress to their classmates. Their attainment is also rising steadily. There was no gap between the attainment of these pupils and others in mathematics in 2013 and the gap has narrowed to one term behind in writing and two terms behind in reading.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make consistent progress and some achieve well in relation to their starting points. This is because teaching assistants are well briefed to support their learning and their progress is monitored effectively both by their class teachers and the special educational needs coordinator.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 As a result of rapidly improving teaching, most pupils are interested in their work, involved in their learning and apply themselves well to different tasks. This was seen in Years 5 and 6, where the topic of stock car racing has provided excitement and challenge in both numeracy and literacy work so that pupils are making good progress.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 In addition to improving teaching, the learning mentor is inviting pupils to attend ‘challenge for life’ club to help pupils develop more confidence in their own abilities and to raise their self- esteem.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children in the Nursery and Reception classes make good progress, especially in their social development. Most start in the Nursery with skills below, and sometimes well below what is expected for their age, particularly in communication, language and numeracy. Although they make good progress overall, they do not reach the level of skill expected for their age by the time they join Year 1.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching in the past three years, including in English and mathematics, has not been sufficiently strong to make sure that all pupils made good progress.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The pace of learning in some lessons is still occasionally slow so that pupils are not all fully involved and teachers do not always check throughout the lesson that pupils understand what is being taught.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Although teachers encourage pupils to check their work, boys are notably more reluctant than the girls to take the time to check their answers in mathematics, and that results in them making avoidable errors.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Where teaching requires improvement, it is because tasks are not made interesting enough to pupils, especially boys, and do not provide enough challenge for the more-able pupils.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 By contrast, the best lessons are planned effectively so that teaching is lively and engages pupils’ interest. Pupils do similar work but different tasks are set which reflect their different abilities so that all pupils are challenged.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Better teaching was seen in many of the lessons observed during the inspection. Teachers choose topics which will interest pupils and plan lessons which reflect real-life situations. For example, a mathematics lesson on perimeters was made more relevant because pupils were working out the perimeters of different rooms and understood why this is a useful skill.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching is good in the Nursery and Reception classes, where colourful rooms and plenty of different activities help children to learn well. Children were enjoying their topic on autumn and were learning about hedgehogs and how to take care of animals in cold weather. Children especially enjoy learning through singing.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching assistants enable disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs to take a full part in all lessons. Their work with individuals and small groups, in and outside the classroom, contributes to the progress of pupils supported through the pupil premium, those at school action, school action plus and sometimes the more-able pupils. This individual focus is helping to raise standards.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Marking and assessment are a notable strength. The headteacher has introduced fortnightly staff meetings with a focus on ensuring that marking is consistent across the school. This is bringing about secure, accurate and positive marking which helps pupils to fully understand where they have done well and what they need to do to improve. Pupils are routinely expected to do corrections and they build up a dialogue with the teacher in their books.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are interested in learning and keen to make progress. In lessons, they usually listen attentively and are quick to respond to teachers’ requests. They enjoy the increasing number of opportunities to lead their own learning and demonstrate their skills to the rest of the class.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say that they feel safe in school and that there is little, if any, bullying. They trust the adults to help them if necessary. They know about the different kinds of bullying, the use of racist or homophobic language, and keeping safe when using social media and internet sites.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour at break and lunchtimes is typically good. Pupils report that the work of the learning mentor has improved behaviour at lunchtime and made school a more friendly and happy place to be.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Staff support pupils’ well-being very effectively and ensure that they are happy and safe in school. Well-thought-out procedures to pick up on any concerns about pupils mean that issues are quickly identified and help is provided. As a result, pupils feel safe and enjoy what school offers.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance is broadly average. It has improved because all staff play their part in improving attendance and pupils enjoy being at school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils work very well together in pairs or groups. They tackle most tasks with enthusiasm, and support and encourage each other. Just occasionally, when they are less interested in the task or the pace is slow, they lose interest and are not as well engaged in learning as they should be.

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The leadership and management are good

 The drive and ambition of the headteacher, well supported by the governing body, is bringing about considerable improvements to pupils’ outcomes, as seen in the tracking data for the current progress of all classes, especially Years 5 and 6.

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The leadership and management are good

 All issues from the previous inspection have been addressed. Initiatives are already improving teaching, raising attainment and increasing pupils’ progress. Behaviour is consistently good, attitudes to learning are positive and attendance has improved. These improvements have been strongly recognised by parents, pupils and the local authority.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has established a more rigorous process for the management of teachers’ performance. This now links judgements about the quality of teaching to pupils’ achievement. It has been effective in increasing the proportion of good teaching.

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The leadership and management are good

 In such a small school, most staff have areas for which they are responsible. Teachers who manage the progress of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, and key stage leaders, are all working competently and with enthusiasm to raise attainment in their areas of responsibility. The leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage are good.

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The leadership and management are good

 As a result of the work of leaders at all levels, the progress of all pupils, including those supported by the pupil premium, has increased and inspection evidence shows that standards are set to rise, with more pupils making better than expected progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 Self-evaluation is accurate. School leaders know that they need to sustain the very recent improvements over a much longer period of time before the overall effectiveness of the school can be judged as good.

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The leadership and management are good

 Gaps in the achievement of different groups of pupils are narrowing or disappearing because of the effective tracking system which identifies underachievement at an earlier stage. The way in which pupil premium funding is used to support learning and provide more enrichment opportunities for pupils is also contributing to improvements in progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The primary school sport funding is being used to increase pupils’ participation in sport, and pupils say that already they feel fitter and more relaxed. Teachers are also benefiting from this funding in developing their skills as coaches and sports leaders.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum broadens pupils’ horizons, as demonstrated in displays of pupils’ work on China, Hawaii, Uganda, Australia and Italy. Staff have become adept at linking subjects together so that numeracy and literacy are developed in the same lessons around topics chosen to pursue pupils’ interests. The curriculum provides rich and memorable experiences which enhance pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Assemblies endorse the sense of community, and pupils’ awareness of other cultures is good.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is effective in discouraging all forms of discrimination and works increasingly well to give all pupils equal opportunities. The school works well with external agencies. The appointment of a learning mentor is having a good impact on supporting individuals and families, breaking down barriers to learning and raising pupils’ self-esteem.

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The leadership and management are good

 Safeguarding arrangements fully meet requirements.

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The leadership and management are good

 Parents spoken to during the inspection were unanimous in their praise of the school, commenting very positively on the improvements under the current leaders.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has been very effective in providing support for the three different school leaders in the last 12 months. Support has been provided to help the school to improve the teaching of mathematics. Through the local authority, the school is involved in a national project, ‘Every Child a Talker’, and this is helping to improve communication skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Many members of the governing body are new to their roles and ambitious to secure further improvement in the school. Governors have taken every opportunity to attend courses to develop their skills and knowledge to enable them to challenge and monitor the school’s success even more closely. Governors are well informed about pupils’ progress and know where the school stands in relation to other similar schools. Governors are all linked to different subject areas and meet regularly with staff to observe what is happening. They know how underperformance is tackled and ask searching questions. They are proud of the central role the school plays in the local community and want it to be the best it can. They oversee and question the way in which funds are spent to make sure it improves the achievement and well-being of pupils. They understand that teachers’ salaries are linked to the success of their

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The leadership and management are good

class teaching. They ensure that all statutory responsibilities are met.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 112621 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 424964

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 137 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Caroline Nash Headteacher Sara George Date of previous school inspection 24 January 2012 Telephone number 01773 872449 Fax number 01773 591804 Email address info@stonebroom.derbyshire.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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